textproduct: Amarillo

KEY MESSAGES

Issued at 1230 PM CDT Wed Apr 29 2026

- Rain chances remain for tonight through Friday night, but trends have been towards lower rain amounts across the combined Panhandles.

- Temperatures on Thursday and Friday are expected to be much cooler with highs in the 40s and 50s.

- Frost or Freeze Warnings may be needed Saturday morning in the western combined Panhandles.

SHORT TERM

(This evening through Thursday night) Issued at 1230 PM CDT Wed Apr 29 2026

Zonal upper level flow is forecast over the region today with a low pressure system moving east towards Baja California. This is the system that will bring chances for moisture to the southern CONUS later this week. For today, the Panhandles are in the wake of a cold frontal passage from last night and the surface wind will have an easterly component throughout the day. This will allow surface moisture to stick around and temperatures will be cooler with a cooler air mass settling in over the region. Overall, a nice late spring day is in store with highs in the 70s with a light easterly wind.

The aforementioned low pressure system is forecast to quickly move east on Thursday and should be moving across far northwestern Mexico or southern Arizona by the early evening hours. Out ahead of this system, mid level moisture will surge northward from the Pacific and Gulf of America towards west Texas. Given a lack of synoptic forcing throughout the day, widespread rain showers or isolated storms are not expected on Thursday. Isolated to scattered showers may form throughout the day, especially as very weak shortwave troughs move across. Any rain accumulation on Thursday should be very minor if much at all. What will be widespread is the cloud cover and a dreary day is expected with highs only reaching the 50s to low 60s. Those temperatures are around 20 degrees cooler than the average for late April. Rain chances will begin to increase Thursday night into Friday morning as the main low pressure system approaches southern NM and southwest TX.

Muscha

LONG TERM

(Friday through next Tuesday) Issued at 1230 PM CDT Wed Apr 29 2026

Rain showers with isolated thunderstorms should be ongoing across portions of the central and western Panhandles to start the day on Friday. Any rain showers that are ongoing will very likely feature light rainfall rates so impacts should be very minimal. The light rain showers may last through much of the day, especially for the western and southern Panhandles before the activity diminishes and moves off to the south by Friday evening. Rain totals at this point could range from very little to nothing across the northeast up to a half inch to maybe an inch across the southwestern TX Panhandle. The totals are still uncertain, but the overall trend has continued to be towards lower totals, especially for the northeastern half of the area. With widespread cloud cover and potentially rain showers ongoing for much of the day, highs on Friday will only be in the upper 40s to upper 50s across the area. The coldest locations will be where the rain showers are ongoing during the day.

Weak ridging is forecast to set up behind the weather system that brought rain to much of Texas and should set up over the southern Rockies late this weekend into early next week. This pattern will lead to steadily increasing temperatures starting Saturday and continuing into early next week. High temperatures during this time frame will likely be in the 70s to 80s. Another low pressure system may begin to move across the Desert Southwest towards the southern High Plains in the middle of next week. This system may bring chances for more showers and storms on Tuesday into Wednesday.

Muscha

AVIATION

(00Z TAFS) Issued at 621 PM CDT Wed Apr 29 2026

VFR conditions expected to persist through at least 10Z. Expect increasing clouds through this period with some potential for MVFR CIGs. Confidence remains low for clouds less than 3k feet between now and 00Z Friday, but cannot rule it out. East to southeast winds expected to prevail around 10 to 15 kts. Can't rule out some light precipitation through the period as well, although there are signs it may stay fairly dry through this period.

AMA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

TX...None. OK...None.